Special to The TimesDebi Boles, co-founder of Pilots N Paws, and pilot Mike Rigg of Greenville, S.C., pose with a rescued cocker spaniel named Jenny Kay.

Levi and Percy have gained their freedom -- now they're waiting to take flight to a new home.

The two Weimaraners are part of Pilots N Paws, a program that relocates rescued animals with the help of volunteer airplane pilots.

"We will transport anything with fur or feathers," Debi Boies, co-founder of Pilots N Paws, said with a laugh. "We don't discriminate."

The one-year-old program is growing in popularity nationally but is slowly taking off in the South.

While Southern animal shelters are overrun by animals, other parts of the country, such as the Northeast, has a shortage of dogs -- especially purebreds -- to adopt. The problem is finding cheap transportation for the dogs to get to their new home.

Pilots N Paws is an online bulletin board which matches pilots willing to donate their time and money to adopted pets that require transportation.

A year ago, Jon Wehrenberg of Knoxville volunteered to fly a Doberman from Florida to the home of his long-time friend, Boies, in Landrum, S. C.. It was the beginning of an incredible journey with some 200 animals being flown to new homes since the first transport Feb. 8, 2008.

Special to The TimesTwo puppies rescued from a puppy mill in Ohio have their headsets on waiting for their first flight with Pilots N Paws.

Media exposure during the last year has boosted the national volunteer pilot list to about 170. But in the animal-overpopulated South, few pilots have stepped up to volunteer, Boies, a retired nurse, said in a telephone interview.

"We desperately need pilots in the South to help us," she pleaded.

One volunteer pilot is Brandon Ross, 35, of Atlanta who has been flying planes since age 13.

"I'm always looking for places to fly," said Ross via telephone. "I was looking on the Web to find a way to help people in need and found Pilots N Paws. I've always been fond of animals and love to fly, so I just took my two loves and put them together."

Before Pilots N Paws, many volunteers drove dogs hundreds of miles to their new homes, or to a drop-off point where they would be picked up by another volunteer. It took 16 volunteer drivers to get one dog to its destination.

"Ground transportation is very stressful to the animals," said Boies. "If one leg breaks down, it's a disaster."

Some local people involved in ground transporting dogs to and from shelters believe Pilots N Paws is a god-send.

"The pilots I've dealt with are amazing," said Nancy Collins of Huntsville who primarily rescues border collies. "They all go beyond belief to help these animals that were scheduled to be put to death (before being pulled by a rescue group). Brandon (Ross) is awesome."

Pam Parrish of Huntsville agrees.

"I think the pilots are selfless and absolutely wonderful," said Parrish, a retail consultant who is part of Weimaraners Rescue of the South.

Ross was instrumental in helping Collins and Parrish in transporting dogs to their new homes.

His wife, Gillian Canty-Ross, works with a pit bull rescue group in Atlanta and had been doing animal ground transport for two years. Getting involved in Pilots N Paws was a no-brainer for the Atlanta pilot.

But it's not cheap.

Unless they own a plane, pilots must rent one for between $150 and $250 per hour. Those with planes must provide their own fuel. The FAA forbids private pilots from taking money to transport goods or other items.

Huntsville has one Pilots N Paws volunteer pilot, Bob Kuehlthau, but he is still awaiting his first transport. Boies said the only other Alabama pilots are in Montgomery and Tuscaloosa.

In addition to Collins and Parrish, Jennifer Garlen of Huntsville and Vanessa Brown of Rainsville have taken part in rescuing dogs, especially purebreds, from kill shelters. All the women have spent their own time and money to travel many miles to take rescued dogs to their new homes. All say more foster homes, in addition to pilots, are desperately needed.

Garlen, an English lecturer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, learned about Pilots N Paws through online forums and from her mom, Virginia Garlen. Virginia's border collie, Tasha, was featured on an NBC Nightly News' "Making a Difference" segment about Pilots N Paws.

"They do wonderful work because they can take the dogs to waiting foster homes so much faster and more comfortably than people on the ground," said Garlen.

Brown, affiliated with Weimaraner Rescue of the South, is fostering Levi and Percy.

She said breed specific rescue group members pull purebreds from kill shelters, take them to a veterinarian for vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries, house trains and teach basic manners to the dogs.

The foster families get to know the dog's personality then match them with a proper family before sending them off into the wild blue yonder.